Refrigerating apparatus



May 30, 1950 L A. PHlLlPP 2,509,514

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed oct. '29, 1947 3 sheets-sheet` 1 May 30, 1950 L. A. PHlLlPP 2,509,614

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS med oct. 29, 1947 s sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR. Lamas/vcr: H- PHILIPP W 5 Mw,

Patented May 30, 1950 REFRIGERATHNG FPARA'KWUS Lawrence d. Philipp, Detroit, Mich., assigner to Nash-lielvinator lCorporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation oi Maryland .application Uctober 29, intl', Serial hic. 732,9@7

(Cl. t2lliil lli lDlairns. ll

This invention relates generally to refrigeratlng apparatus and more particularly to household type refrigerators.

it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement of refrigerator units so that a refrigerant condensing element and a panel of the refrigerator cabinet are re movable as a unitary structure from the cabinet proper.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement and construction of a refrigerator rear Wall to effect removal, as a unit, of part of the Wall and a condensing element carried thereby.

another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator oi the above mentioned character in which vibrations of the condensing element are dampened.

another objectief the invention is to provide in a refrigerator, a readily removable, cabinet rear wall panel which, among other functions, sup-- ports a refrigerant condensing element; dissipates the heat of condensation of the refrigerant lil and induced flue draft up the baclr or the cabinet.

Further objects and advantages oi the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the ac companying drawings, wherein a preferred form oi the present invention is clearly shown..

ln the drawings:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional View of a refrgera tor, embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view oi the refrigerator;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view oi the refrigerator, teiten. along the line of Fig. 2;

fi is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the refrigerator, taken along the line ll--li ol Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of the refrigerator taken along the line 5 5 oi Fiat;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical view of the refrigerators cooling system; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the refrigerator, taken along the line 'l-l of Fig. 2.

In the drawings there is shown a refrigerator having a cabinet, designated generally by the numeral 2li. The cabinet 2@ comprises, in general, a. casing 22 and a food storage compartment liner 2d. The liner 2B is spaced from the casing 22 and interposed between the liner and the casing is heat insulation 26 to decrease heat leakage into the cabinet interior. A food storage compartment 28 is formed by the inner surface of d the liner it and is cooled by a refrigerant evaporator, designated generally by the numeral itl. As shown, the evaporator Stil may be located in the compartment 2t, adjacent the top of the cabinet, and may be suspended from the cabinet top wall by brackets 32 or by any other suitable means. Immediately below the evaporator uit, a drip pan 3i may be supported on the uppermost ci a number of shelves it. A suitable door til is provided to close the front of the food storage compartment il and may be hung by suitable hinges on one side of the cabinet.

The evaporator Sit may be of any suitable type, such as the so-called U-shape evaporator shown. ln general, this evaporator .it i5 formed of sheet metal providing refrigerant passages dit, communicating with a refrigerant accumulator which may be located on one side of the evaporator. For a more detailed showing and description of a U-shaped evaporator and accumulator therefor, reference may be had to my patent entitled Rei'rigerating apparatus, No. 2,825,706, issued August 3, l9tl3. also, the sheet metal walls of the evaporator lili form an ice making compartment having an access opening, adjacent the front of the cabinet, which may be closed by an interior door in the rear Wall of the cabinet, adjacent the bottom thereof, l provide an exterior wall panel member or cup il of concave-convex shape which forms part of the cabinet rear wall and provides a recess or machinery compartment it to receive a refrigerant motor-compressor unit till. The wall panel member di is preferably located sub stantially midway between the sides of the cabi net covering a lower portion of the insulation it. integral with the wall panel member il, adjacent its lower end, is a pair of oppositely extending horizontal arms #lil which are secured adjacent their outer ends, as by welding, to reversely bent inturned flanges 5i of the casing sides. Coplanar with the casing side flanges 5l there is a similar ange 53 extending across the cabinet adjacent the top thereof.

The motor-compressor unit is connected to one end of a refrigerant condenser 54 from which liquid refrigerant is delivered to the evaporator 3B by a small diameter or capillary tube 56. As is well known in the refrigeration art, such capillary tubes are adapted to control flow of refrigerant to insure delivery of the proper amount of refrigerant to an evaporator. From the evaporator accumulator 44, a refrigerant conduit 58A returns gaseous refrigerant to the motor-compressor unit whence the refrigerant is compressed and delivered to the condenser 54. A portion of the return conduit 58 is preferably arranged in heat exchange relationship with the capillary tube 56 to cool refrigerant passing through the latter.

In accordance with my invention, I provide the cabinet 2i! with a removable rear Wall panel 60 and mount the condensing element including the condenser 54 and motor-compressor 50 thereon so that these units and the panel may be removed as a unitary structure from the cabinet. The wall panel 60 and the wall panel member 48 cooperate in forming the exterior rear wall cover of the cabinet. The removable panel @il extends upwardly from the Wall panel member All substantially to the top of the cabinet and extends substantially across the width of the cabinet between the casing sides. Adjacent the bottom of the cabinet 20, the lower edge of the removable panel 50 conforms in outline to the rear opening of the machinery compartment it and overlaps an out-turned iiange El of the panel member 4l and also overlaps the panel member supporting arms 49. Along its outer edges the removable panel 60 is preferably provided with a continuous reinforcing bead 62 of channel shape in which a displaceable seal member or gasket 6d is held under compression against the panel flange 6l, arm 9, and against the inturned easing anges 53 and 5I to seal the joint between these parts and the removable panel. it will be seen that the casing flanges 5l and 53 present an inwardly oi'- set ledge for the panel 6u which ledge is substantially coplanar with the rear surfaces of the panel ange 6l and panel supporting arms t9. Screws 66 or other suitable attaching means may be provided to secure the removable panel t@ to the casing flanges 53, 5l and to the panel flange 5l. Preferably the screws 65 are located in the panel reinforcing bead 62. As is shown more clearly in Fig. 2, the condenser 54 is in the usual form of a conduit or coil, bent to extend in a sinuous or serpentine manner along the inner surface of the removable panel t0. A suitable cement, not shown, may be used to secure the condenser coil in good heat transfer relationship to the inner surface of the removable panel bil.

Immediately back of the evaporator 3b, an opening in the liner rear wall is closed by a. removable closure or plate 51. Through this opening the evaporator 30 is removable from the rear of the cabinet upon removing the insulation and upon removal of the cabinet rear wall panel The spacing between the liner rear wall and the removable panel 60 is made greater than the corresponding spacing for the other walls of the cabinet so that additional insulation in the rear Wall will insure against heat of condensation in the condenser reaching the liner. Also, the increased rear wall thickness provides for reception of the recessed panel member 4l with decreased leakage of heat from the motor-compressor compartment to the liner. The insulation 26 may be of any suitable type but, preferably is a fibrous material which is readily displaceable to receive the refrigerant supply line 56 and the refrigerant return line 58. Also the insulation 26 is preferably in batt form as indicated of the section o insulation immediately behind the evaporator (see Fig. 1). This section of insulation is removable to allow removal of the evaporator 4D from the cabinet and part of the insulation below said section may be removed so that the supply and return lines can be withdrawn from the cabinet with the evaporator and compressor units.

Secured to the outer surface of the removable panel G0 is a plurality of laterally spaced, vertically extending iins 58 to give added heat dissipating surface to the cabinets removable rear panel 60. These ilns 68 may be of channel cross section having webs 'I0 which may be welded flat against the rear surface of the panel 60. The rearwardly directed sides of the channels have out-turned flange portions l2 which are preferably coplanar, with adjacent edges terminating in slight spaced relationship to each other. These adjacent flanges l2 cooperate with each other and with adjacent sides of the dns in forming upright passages 73 which function as a plurality of flues to carry away the heat of condensation of the refrigerant and also to carry away the heat generated by the motor-compressor unit 50.

In order to dampen vibrations and accompanying noise of the motor-compressor unit 50, I suspend the motor-compressor unit from the lower edge of the removable panel 60 by coil tension springs 14. Welded, or otherwise suitably secured to the panel bead 62 is a pair'of laterally spaced brackets 'I6 to which the upper ends of the springs 14 are secured; the lower ends of the springs being secured to brackets 18 on and secured to the motor-compressor unit casing top wall. Adjacent the bottom of the cabinet 20, I provide an additional pair of springs 8D which Iarrange to counteract swinging movement of the motorcompressor unit. In the present arrangement. the springs 8U are diametrically disposed so as to act in opposite directions. These springs 80 are under tension exerting forces acting to move the motor-compressor unit sideways. The outer ends of the springs 80 are anchored respectively to a pair of brackets 82 carried by the panel 60; the inner ends of the springs 8U being anchored to brackets 84 which may be welded or be otherwise secured to the motor-compressor casing.

From the foregoing description it will be noted that I have provided an improved arrangement of refrigerator units so that the condensing element thereof may be readily removed with and upon removal of the cabinet rear wall. It will also be noted that I have arranged to support the motor-compressor unit on the cabinet rear wall panel in a manner to dampen audible vibrations of the motor-compressor unit. In addition my refrigerator removable back wall functions to dissipate heat of condensation and has an extended heat dissipating surface which also acts to carry away heat from the machinery compartment.

Although only a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated, and that form described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modiiications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet, a sheet material wall member covering a portion of a, wall of said cabinet, a removable panel member cooperating with said sheet material wall member to form an exterior wall covering and having a clearance recess therein, detachable fasteners attaching said removable panel member to said sheet material wall member, and a motor-compressor unit carried solely by said removable panel member extending into said recess.

2. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet, an external wall cover member having an inwardly` directed recess in a wall of said cabinet, a. removable panel cooperating with said wall cover to form an exterior covering for said wall, a' motorcompressor unit carried by said removable panel extending into said recess, said wall cover member and said removable panel forming a joint therebetween. and a seal closing and sealing said joint.

3. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet, a concave-convex exterior wall cover member forming an inwardly directed recess in a wall of said cabinet, a removable panel cooperating with said wall cover member to form an exterior wall covering, a motor-compressor unit carried bysaid removable panel extending into said recess, said Wall cover member and said removable panel forming a joint therebetween, and a seal closing and sealing said joint and carried by said removable panel.

4. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet, a concave-convex exterior wall cover member forming an inwardly directed recess in a wall of said cabinet, a removable panel cooperating with said wall cover member forming an exterior wall covering on said cabinet contiguous with said exterior wall cover member, a motor-compressor unit carried by said removable panel extending into said recess, said wall cover member and said removable panel forming a joint therebetween, a reinforcing bead on said removable panel adjacent said joint. and a displaceable sealing member sealing said joint and being disposed in and carried by said reinforcing bead.

5. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet, an exterior wall cover member having an inwardly directed recess in one wall of said cabinet and having an opening exteriorly of said casing, a removable panel cooperating with said wall cover member to form an exterior wall of said cabinet, said wall cover member and said panel member forming a joint therebetween, a reinforcing bead on said panel extending along and adjacent said joint, a displaceable seal held in said bead over said joint, fastener means attaching said removable panel to said wall cover member and to said cabinet, a motor-compressor unit within said wall cover member recess, and spring means suspending said motor-compressor unit from said rein-forcing bead. i

6. In refrigerating apparatus, acabinet rear wall having an outwardly opening recess adjacent the bottom thereof, a refrigerant motorcompressor unit in said recess, a refrigerant condenser coil operatively connected to said motorcompressor unit, a removable rear wall panel carrying said motor-compressor unit and also carrying said condenser coil, spring suspension means attaching said motor-compressor unit to said removable rear panel, and laterally acting yieldable means attached to said motor-compressor unit limiting side sway thereof.

7. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet rear wall having a recess opening through the rear thereof, a removable rear panel attached to said cabinet, said panel having a reinforcing portion extending along the lower edge thereof adjacent said recess opening, a, refrigerant motor-compresser unit in said recess, and spring means suspending said motor-compressor unit from said reinforcing portion.

8. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet rear Wall. a recess in said cabinet rear wall opening at the rear and bottom of said cabinet, a removable rear wall panel attached to said cabinet having an edge interrupted adjacent said recess, a motor-compressor unit suspended from said removable panel and removable therewith as a unitary structure, spring means suspending said motorcompressor from said removable panel, and oppositely disposed springs attached to said motor-compressor unit yieldingly opposing side sway 0f said motor-compressor unit.

9. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet having a food storage compartment and an opening in a rear wall thereof, a refrigerant evaporator in said food storage compartment and being removable through said opening, a, machinery compartment having an opening through said rear wall, a refrigerant condensing element operatively connected to said evaporator having a motorcompressor unit in said machinery compartment, said motor-compressor unit being removable from said machinery compartment from the rear of said cabinet, and a removable rear cabinet panel overlying said iirst opening and carrying said condensing element.

10. In refrigerating apparatus, a cabinet having a liner forming a. food storage compartment, a casing, a refrigerant evaporator arranged to absorb heat from said food storage compartment, a machinery compartment in said cabinet. a motor-compressor unit in said machinery compartment operatively connected to said refrigerant evaporator, a removable rear panel attached to said cabinet, a refrigerant condenser carried by and secured to the inner surface of said removable panel and being operatively connected to said evaporator and to said motor-compressor unit, and insulation interposed between said said refrigerant condenser.

LAWRENCE A. PHILIPP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

5 UNrrED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,937,253 collins Dec, 22, 1931 2,058,906 Philipp oct. 27, 1930 2,247,904 Brace Juiy 1, 194i 2,270,407 Blood Jan. 20, 1942 2,387,465 Peltier ont. 23, 1945 2,392,727 Dailey Jan. a, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS o Number Country Date 394,541 Great Britain Dec. s, 1932 liner and, 

